The Hunt
by Vamp4eva
Summary: Every year, the annual Hunt is held by vampires. Humans are lured into an abandoned area and slaughtered for sport. The rules are simple. Survive till morning. For Alice Burke, it's different. Different in the fact that she seems to be the only one the hunters aren't hunting.
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up, Al!" Kim yelled. A large group of her friends from school were coming with us to a midnight premier. I'd never heard of the movie, but decided I'd go along anyways.

Kim was like the leader of the group. She was also the tall popular one. Coincidence?

Amy was the more reserved one. She had mousy brown hair and wore the same baggy sweatshirt almost every day. She was also very pretty, prettier than Kim, but she didn't really talk much.

Annemarie was a lot like me. She didn't really know most of the people. I stuck with her most of the way here. She was really nice.

Maggie...weird. I can't think of another way to describe her.

Then, there's me, Alice. I'm average height for a 17 year old girl. My hair is black, my eyes are almost black, which just makes me look more pasty. I don't really have much personality. I have a couple of average friends, average grades, average clothes. Not much to tell about me.

"Hey did you bring money for popcorn?" Kim nudged me. I shook my head. She looked disappointed for a bit but brightened.

"Oh well. I'm supposed to be dieting anyways," she said shrugging it off. Annemarie looked at me and rolled her eyes. I did the same.

We walked through the large glass doors. It closed behind us audibly. I looked around us. For a midnight premier, it was surprisingly empty.

"OMG why are the concessions unattended?" Maggie yelled in a sudden fit.

Everyone ignored her outburst.

"Hey...maybe we should just go in a theatre...?" Kim suggested. Considering this whole get together was her idea, we followed her without comment.

For a few minutes, Kim and Maggie argued about seating arrangements. Kim -of course- won. We sat almost in the exact middle of the theatre. We sat there for a few minutes.

"So...what now?" Annemarie asked.

"Um...how was your day?" I asked. Everyone laughed, thinking I was joking, but I was being serious. I laughed along with them.

Suddenly the screen erupted in a burst of static. The strange white noise was deafeningly loud. It died down to a softer rustling.

We all stared at each other. When we looked back at the screen, a tall, thin man clad in black appeared.

"Hello, humans. I welcome you to the 107th annual Hunt. For those who don't know what this is, it is the vampire's yearly hunt of humans. How to compete? It's simple really. Survive till morning. If you do this, you will be released unharmed. I will, however, admit that this has never happened before. When the screen shuts off, a bell will ring. Once that happens, the Hunt will begin. All of you will have a ten minute head start from the vampires. There is one rule. Do not attempt to leave the building. If you do, you will be killed instantly," he finished. The screen didn't shut off. The man just stood there. Motionless.

"Screw this," said Kim. She stood up and ran to the nearest exit and opened the door. All of us screamed in unison as a man with dark black hair and blood red eyes grabbed her. She screeched as he took hold of her head and snapped her neck. Kim fell to the floor with a soft thud.

"Now that you believe, let the Hunt begin," he boomed. The screen shut off and a bell rang.

We sat there in silence.

"C'mon guys. We gotta go NOW," I whispered.

"What?" Amy asked.

"We have to hide before they come and kill us," I replied more urgently.

"They killed her..." Maggie breathed.

"Yeah which is why we gotta go,"

The four of us stood up and filed out of the room. We got in the lobby and I faced the other three girls.

"So where should we go?" I asked urgently.

"We need to go somewhere with height. If we have upper ground, it'll be easier to defend and escape," Annemarie suggested.

"And where would that be?" I prompted.

"There's a room with a balcony!" Amy cut in. She pointed down a long hallway.

"Okay let's go,"

Amy led us down the dark hallway and opened a door. We had probably used up our ten minutes by now. I rushed them up the stairs and to the balcony. We crouched in front of the first row of seats. A bell rang, signifying the end of our ten minutes. Maggie began to cry softly next to me. I rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Yelled a male voice. All of us flinched. Maggie began to cry louder.

"Maggie! Shhhh it's okay, shhh," I tried to calm her down.

"Awww. No need to cry," said the cold voice. It sounded dangerously close to us. My heart almost stopped and my blood ran cold as soft, cold fingers stroked my hair. He then roughly grabbed my neck. I screeched and everyone else looked behind me. I had no idea what they saw until my captor turned me around.

The man looked around seventeen years old, but if vampire folklore was true, than he was probably much older. His hair was thick and brown. It was short and clean cut. His eyes were a brilliant red with a border of long thick lashes. If we were under different circumstances, I could almost guarantee that our entire group would be falling all over him.

"Who should I take first?" He said eyeing the four of us. He gave Maggie a double take.

"I thought I said to stop crying," he hissed. He dropped me and I fell to the ground in a heap. I looked up and he had disappeared. After a quick mental head count, I stood up and the others followed.

"Why didn't he kill any of us?" I asked the others. They all looked at me blank.

"I think...I think maybe it's part of the Hunt. Maybe they're just messing with our minds. Trying to mess us up psychologically," Amy suggested.

"OMG..." Maggie whispered. Annemarie looked at me with a worried expression.

"I think we should start moving. Maybe we should get out of the theatre rooms and stay in a more open place. There could dozens of vampires hiding behind these seats," I warned. As if on cue, a chair at the front of the room squeaked. We froze in place for a good ten minutes.

"C'mon," Annemarie whispered. She crawled around me to the door. I followed her as quietly as I could.

"HELP ME!" Amy screamed. I turned around just in time to see another stunning vampire grab poor Amy. He disappeared with inhuman speed.

"Run!" Maggie screamed. We all scattered. No one followed each other and I had soon lost sight of everyone. I opened the theatre door and ran into the lobby. I screamed as another vampire appeared in front of me. He grinned maniacally. I swerved around him and ran through an open theatre door. I slammed the door behind me. For some reason, it had a large bolt lock on it. I shut it gratefully.

I quietly ran to the back of the theatre and crouched down in second to the last row. I swiveled around every few seconds to make sure there weren't any unwanted visitors around me. After what felt like hours, I slowly turned and sat down in the chair.

I gasped slightly as cold fingers wrapped around my neck.

This couldn't happen. I was careful. I couldn't die. I had to fight! I thrusted my elbow back towards where I thought his face would be. He grabbed my forearm, right by the elbow.

"Feisty, aren't you?" He said pushing me back into my seat. In a flash, I felt a cool gust of wind and he was sitting backwards in the chair in front of me.

He smiled with his teeth, and his fangs glinted in the small amount of light.


	2. Chapter 2

OMG THANKS FOR FOUR REVIEWS ON ONE MEASLY CHAPTER! I'd like to thank Meowcubed3, Kemple...haha your review really made me laugh! Sinisterbree, multifandomholic! You guys were all fantastic! I really appreciate your comments!

The Hunt

CHAPTER 2

Mind games

The vampire grinned at me toothily.

"Hello," he whispered. He waited for me to respond.

"Hi," barely breathed out of habit.

"I'm guessing you have questions, but so do I. Wanna take turns?" He asked cheerfully in the same whispering tone. Even though he seemed to have a relatively calm demeanor, I didn't want to upset someone who could kill me in a single second. So I nodded.

"You first," he nodded to me. I don't know if it was because of my natural instinct to stall or what, but I took this opportunity to ask the stupidest question ever.

"Why are we whispering?" I asked. He looked at me darkly for a second, but tilted his head back and laughed loudly. I cringed and shrank into my seat. I looked around the theatre for signs of another vampire.

"That's why," he said amused.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't wanna scare you away," he answered. I scoffed in a sudden burst of boldness.

"My turn," he said. "Why were you here? At the movie theatre?" It took me a few seconds to answer.

"Because I was gonna go see a movie with my friends," I answered.

"Well, yes. It's a movie theatre. What I meant was, why were you here with them? They aren't your friends," he restated.

"I guess I just had nothing better to do," I responded.

"Fair enough. Your turn," he rested his chin on one of his hands.

"Why are you doing this?" I started. "Why are you doing this annual Hunt?"

"Why do humans Hunt animals?" He retorted.

"So is that how you view us? As animals?" I was disgusted.

"No, of course not. We were all human once so vampires don't degrade you to animals, but, you are our food supply," he frowned.

"Why do THIS though? For sport?" I said still disgusted.

"In a sense, yes. Immortality can be...boring...after some time. This serves as entertainment," he looked at me as if he envied me as a mortal. I, however, was truly and utterly repulsed. I think he could tell.

"Hey, try not to be so judgmental. Most of us were forced to be this way. It's not like we enjoy it," he said briskly.

"It seems like some of you do," I replied. I don't know why I couldn't just shut my mouth. I always had to be a wisecrack. I shrank back and braced for him to strike me. Instead he looked thoughtful.

"And you're right. There are some who do. I'm guessing you've encountered a few," he assumed.

"Only today," I said a bit sad.

"Well I think today that you have seen enough vampires to last your whole life," he said.

"Which probably won't be too long," I said morbidly.

"True," he said thoughtfully.

"Your turn," I cut in.

"Well I've got no more questions. I guess you have the stage now," he smirked.

"Why haven't you killed us yet? Why are you vampires just messing with our minds?" I asked. He crawled over his seat and stood towering in front of me.

"I guess I could change that," He said. He was leaning over me in lightening speed. The vampire wrapped his fingers through my hair and pulled my head back. I gasped as his face neared my neck. As I prepared a scream, he put his other hand over my mouth and clamped it shut.

I clawed at the back of his shirt and yanked on his hair but my efforts were fruitless.

I felt the small moment in which his teeth barely touched my neck. And then they began to bear down harder. They punctured my skin and I was paralyzed. Whatever venom the vampire had, took hold of me immediately. My head leaned back further and rested on the back of the seat. He took his hand off my mouth and it unwilling stayed closed, keeping the scream inside. My hands dropped from his back and to my sides.

The pain wasn't how I though it would be. It was very minor. I had expected it to be like getting stabbed. Instead, it was like someone had barely grazed the skin at first. I literally felt nothing now. A deep numbness spread through my body within seconds of being bitten.

I grew weaker and weaker with every second. I fought to stay awake but it didn't do anything. I just slipped further into unconsciousness. My eyes closed and my breathing became slower.

"No, I can't die yet!" I thought. It was the last thought I remember.

"ALICE!" Someone screamed. The noise was too loud. It hurt my ears and there was a dull throb in my head. My neck was stiff and I didn't want to move it. Someone grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"Go away..." I mumbled. I just wanted some peace and quiet.

"What's wrong with her...oh no. Maggie I think she was bitten," said a different voice. What were they talking about? Whatever it was, it was complete nonsense.

Out of the blue, my memories came flooding back in a cavalcade of images. I opened my eyes and sat up trying not to cry.

Oh my goodness, I almost died. Why am I not dead?!

"Alice, are you alright?" Annemarie asked worriedly. I shook my head with tears threatening to spill.

"What happened?" Maggie asked just as worried.

"He attacked me. A vampire," I then proceeded to tell them my encounter with the maniac.

"And he didn't kill you?" Maggie asked when I finished. I shook my head. It hurt.

"So what happened to you guys?" I questioned. Annemarie looked at Maggie and then to me.

"Amy's gone," she stated quietly. I opened my mouth to speak but no words would form.

"We looked for her when we got out of the theatre room and we found her body," Maggie continued.

"She was dead, but we couldn't get to her. A vamp chased us into here," Annemarie finished.

"Oh no..." I whispered.

"It's just the three of us left," Maggie said sounding hopeless.

"How long have I been out?" I said more alert.

"About three hours," said a voice from above. We all looked around us, too scared to scream.

The screen flashed on. The man from the very beginning of this Hunt appeared on screen, just as he had before.

"Hello, remaining competitors. It is currently 5:47 in the morning and daybreak has begun. You have survived the night," he congratulated us with surprise.

All of looked at each other unbelievingly. We had done it. We survived. I reached forward to hug Maggie and Annemarie when the voice cut into our celebration.

"There is however, a minor complication. Upon closer inspection of your situation, it was duly noted that two of the previous competitors failed to complete the competition. The rules were to survive and they did not. Because two humans did not survive the night, the surviving humans will stay here another two nights, participating in the hunt. Every time a human dies, the other humans will have to stay with us for another night. Humans will have all of daylight of everyday to prepare and rest. Good luck to both the hunted and the hunters alike," The screen shut off.

We all shared a look of horror and the bell rang.

For the first time since our arrival, I cried.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I meant to say I'm so sorry for the large breaks in between chapters and the inexcusably short chapter I most recently delivered! I must also say I'm sorry if my storyline so far has not been satisfactory. Please forgive any grammatical errors or repetitive points. Allow me to say that I do have an excuse for this horrible writing. I've been in a bit of a hurry writing these chapters because I've been going blind. I have had temporary blindness for the past two years and it hasn't let up. Doctors don't know what's wrong, so please pray for me and don't hate me for long pauses between chapters!

Blindly yours,

Vamp4eva

The small band of us remaining walked into the lobby, deciding to rest there, considering it was rife with sunlight. Even if the vampires said we were allotted all of day to rest, it didn't mean they were telling the truth. I think all of us hoped that if they tried to come in here, the vamps would burst into flame.

The dark red carpets reminded me of blood and the repetitive swirling designs consolidated my opinion. The walls were tall and black, slightly curving towards the ceiling similar to a dome.

I didn't like domes.

As I further contemplated our situation, fear rose in my stomach like a bubble threatening to burst. I began to hyperventilate. I did what they asked. I survived the night. I didn't break any rules.

But they were keeping me here. And I would die here.

My vision began to grow fuzzy and my fingers and toes got tingly. Hot tears streamed down my face creating light pattering noises as they fell on my lap. Thick hair clung to my wet face in black curling tendrils.

Annemarie ran towards me and shook me. Her own eyes smudged with mascara dripped with tears.

"Alice. Alice! Something's wrong with Maggie," she yelled frantically between sobs. I glanced over to where she pointed. Maggie stared up at the ceiling with her limbs splayed in various directions. I crawled over to her, my breath slowing.

"Maggie," I croaked. I shook her shoulder. Her eyes were dilated and unblinking. Her chest moved up and down in the rhythmic pattern of inhaling and exhaling.

I turned to Annmarie.

"She isn't dead. What's wrong with her?"

She looked at me with tears still pooling in her eyes. "Shock, I think," she answered.

I turned back to Maggie and slapped her hard across the face. A squeal was heard behind me but I didn't turn to look. I slapped the catatonic Maggie again, this time harder. There was no apparent change in expression whatsoever.

After several worthless attempts at rousing Maggie, Annemarie and I gave up. My exhausted friend curled up on the floor near me and tucked her arm under her head in a makeshift pillow.

I however, wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. My throat hurt from the hours I'd spent crying and my head drummed like a timpani. I carefully lifted myself up from the ground, heading towards the water fountain. I stumbled from the numbness of my legs and feet, so I resorted to crawling. After the small span of 10 yards, I had reached my destination. My legs had by then gained feeling. I stood up slowly, my back protesting against the sudden change in posture. It didn't help as I arched forward to drink from the fountain. I kneeled back to the ground after I'd had my fill. To accommodate my sore body, I laid down on my side. As my eyes began to close a small glinting caught my attention. In the corner of the lobby was a metallic box. I crawled across the floor to get closer. When I was close enough to read the label, it read:

You better f- use these right.

The writing was sloppy and seemed to be written with a nearly ink-less pen.

I was previously scared to open the lid, but my curiosity peaked and I carefully unlatched it and lifted the top.

I didn't really know what I'd find. Maybe some sort of mystical sorcery thing. Or a rock. Definitely not what I actually found.

What I saw appeared to be wooden blades. As long as a pencil and as thick as two. They looked like they would be rather frail, and break, if you hit something hard enough with it. Well, if it weren't for the two steel braces on either side of the wooden knife. The whole box was filled to the brim with the strange devices. There were about twenty.

"Annemarie," I called over to the sleeping girl and she slunk towards me in a groggy stupor.

"Look at this," I held up a blade and motioned towards the others.

"What is it?" She asked. I shook my head and almost told her I didn't know. But that would be a lie. Because at that moment, I did. I faced her and stopped fiddling with the blade.

"I think...I think they're stakes. Like wooden stakes...to kill vampires,"

"Master, the girl. She found the..."

"What? What did she find, Cain?"

"She found the weapons,"

"Oh, I see,"

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean? We proceed as planned, that's what we should do,"

"Yes, Master,"

"Cain,"

"Yes?"

"Tell them it's time for a full attack,"

"Tell...who?"

...

"All of them,"

After another fruitless attempt at waking Maggie, Annemarie and I went to the concessions and ate stale popcorn, nachos, of course candy, and whatever food we could find.

Afterwards, we tried to get Maggie to drink some water, but she only sputtered and choked.

By the time all of this was over, night began to approach.

"I'd say we only have an hour of daylight left," Annemarie said as she tucked a stake into her belt.

We had decided to bring as many stakes as we possibly could tonight.

Annemarie had stuck at least five through her belt and had two in her hands at the ready. I'd done the same but with an extra stake tucked into the leg of my boot. It scratched my leg a little when I walked, but it was extra protection.

"What should we do with Maggie?" I asked. Annemarie looked at me with tired eyes.

"Never mind," I mumbled. It was apparent that we wouldn't be doing anything with Maggie. We couldn't.

"Alright," Annemarie started. "You ready for this?" She asked apprehensive.

"No," I huffed. She smiled at me and grabbed my hand.

"Neither am I. But we can do this," my friend said comfortingly.

We walked forward, hand in hand, towards a random auditorium. We sat down shakily in a couple of seats nearest to the exit. As we sat there in silence, waiting for our evening broadcasting, a thought occurred to me.

"Maggie won't make it out of here. She's gonna die tonight," I said turning to Annemarie. She smiled sadly.

"I know. We couldn't wake her up...so I figured..." She whispered. My eyes were wide and I was filled with adrenaline.

"And what happens whenever a human dies?" I asked gripping her shoulders tightly. Her eyes widened and she put her hands over her mouth.

"Annemarie, this won't end after tonight," I whispered.

She began scrambling out of her chair but froze as the screen flickered to life.

"Hello humans. Welcome to the second night of The Hunt.

Before we begin, I'd like to congratulate all of you for coming this far. Though it is unlikely you will survive this night, I wish you luck with utmost sincerity," he started.

"Now as you all know, once the bell rings, The Hunt will begin and humans will be given a ten minute head start. Once more, I wish you luck," the screen shut off and we were plunged into darkness.

"Game plan?" I whispered to the dark space where I thought Annemarie was. All I heard was her sobbing.

"No game plan," she sniffled.

I rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"We can't just stay here," I said while pulling her up.

I tugged her into the same balcony from the first night. And we waited.

We waited for at least two hours sitting in those same seats. Annemarie looked around constantly. She was unbelievably alert and strangely fidgety.

"It's okay, we're safe here," I said trying to calm her.

"No we aren't! We are gonna die. And I can't keep sitting here waiting for it! I can't. I can't do it anymore," she said jumping up from her seat. She ran down the stairs of the balcony and into the lobby. I heard her scream once, and that was all.

Just like that, I was left all alone.

I leaned back into the chair about to start my pathetic crying again. However, my plans were interrupted when a cool hand grabbed the back of my neck.

I turned around and slammed my stake into his chest. His red eyes bulged in their sockets and he gasped. I pulled the wooden blade out and stuck it back in again. I twisted the knife inside of him and relished in his cry of pain. I stabbed him another four times. By then, he just laid there on the floor. I pulled out my weapon and cast it aside. It was slick with blood and tissue.

I stepped towards the vampire on the floor and kneeled on his chest. I leaned so close to his face that I could feel his shallow breath on my skin. I grabbed a fistful of his blond hair and yanked his head up to face me. He locked eyes with me.

"Go to hell," I hissed.

I slammed his head back to the ground and stood up. I looked at my hands coated in his blood and wiped them on my already bloody shirt. There was still blood left on my hands. But I loved the blood on my hands.

WARNING!:::: PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE!

The next chapter is going to be very very crazy! Probably my longest chapter, and busiest! ACTUALLY NO! The chapter after that one will be the longest! But I just thought I should tell you all that the next two chapters, you don't want to miss! Because a whole lot of crazy crap goes down!

Please review and let me know what you think! And KEMPLE!

Kemple, I'm sorry if you didn't like the last chapter :( I really hope you like this one and that it was more entertaining!

Please review!


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